Doffing mechanism



Dec. 5, 1967 J, PATTON 3,356,307

DOFFING MECHANISM Fil ed Oct. 14, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RALPH J. PATTON ATTORNEY R. J. PATTON DOFFING MECHANISM Dec. 5, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 14] 1966 INVENTOR RALPH. J. PATTON ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 196 7 R. J. PATTON DORFING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 14, 1966 FIG. 5

R N m M WP H P L A R ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,356,307 DOFFING MECHANISM Ralph J. Patton, Lexington, N.C., assignor to National Engineering, Inc., Lexington, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Oct. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 586,822 8 Claims. c1. 242-41 This invention relates to a doffing mechanism for the mandrel assemblies of winding machines and more particularly to a dofling mechanism which is operable to release a tube or cone from the mandrel when the winding operation is completed and to receive a new carrier.

The doffing mechanism herein described is adaptable for use with the mandrel assembly which is the subject of applicants co-pending application Ser. No. 556,055, filed on June 8, 1966.

As more fully appears in applicants said co-pending application, various devices have been developed in the art for releasably holding a cone or tube, hereinafter called a yarn carrier, during a yarn winding operation, but all such prior devices known to applicant have releasably held the carrier through the use of radially applied pressure exerted against the inner surface of the carrier. These devices have proved objectionable for use with plastic cones or yarn carriers because of the difi iculty in obtaining a secure grip on the slick, hard plastic. Another disadvantage is that such devices sometimes cut or damage the tail or length of yarn placed inside the carrier prior to Winding, thereby interfering with subsequent processing of the yarn.

The mandrel assembly disclosed in said application Ser. No. 556,055 provided a mandrel journalled on a spindle on a winding machine and rotatable relative thereto. The mandrel was exteriorly shaped to conform generally to the inner cofiguration of the yarn carrier throughout a sufficient extent of the carrier to provide adequate support for the carrier during the winding. The mandrel included stop means at its end adjacent the fixed end of the spindle to serve as a seat for a yarn carrier positioned on the mandrel and a spring-lock retaining head extended from the other end of the mandrel, including a plurality of resilient fingers each having a thickened end portion which collectively define an annular head of greater diameter than the inner diameter of the yarn carrier. An axially movable ejector means was provided adjacent the fixed end of the spindle which selectively engaged the proximal end of the yarn carrier to move the carrier axially outward of the mandrel and collapse the resilient fingers on the retaining head to permit the carrier to be 'doffed.

However, the eject-or actuating means of the prior invention was single acting, that is, the ejector collar remained in the dofiing position after the carrier had been released and required a manual resetting operation to move the collar back to expose the stop means whereby a new carrier can be seated on the stop means.

7 The improvement of the present invention over that. of applicants prior co-pending application is the feature ly, is repositioned to receive a new empty yarn carrier.

In addition to the objects of applicants co-pending application Ser. No. 556,055: r

It is an object of this invention to provide means for releasably holding a yarn carrier during the winding oper ation and also easily operable to relieve the axial pressure 3,356,307 Patented Dec. 5, 1967 to dolI the carrier, then return to a position for receiving a new yarn carrier.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an ejection means for dofling a yarn carrier which is responsive to a pivotal movement of the spindle relative to the spindle stand.

In general, the device of the present invention is identical to that of applicants prior invention described in applicants co-pending application Ser. No. 556,055 in regard to the mandrel and spring-lock means. The improvement is in a new and improved ejector actuating mechanism which may be used with most standard type winding machines. The ejector actuating mechanism consists of an ejector collar similar to that in applicants prior invention, a bearing pin, and a thrust block, all of which are set in a cooperative relationship by the action of the spindle being pivoted relative to the spindle stand. When the yarn carrier is sufiiciently wound, the operator pivots the carrier outwardly toward him, causing the bearing pin to push the thrust block against the ejector collar which in turn is forced against the base of the yarn carrier to doff it from the mandrel.

As the spindle continues its pivotal movement the thrust block returns over the transverse bearing pin until it clears the pin. A spring inside the mandrel assembly thenpushes the ejector collar and thrust bearing back to the original position to expose the stop means whereby a new yarn carrier may be seated on the mandrel. The only action to be taken by the operator is to pivot the yarn carrier toward him, remove the full yarn carrier which has been dotted by the action described above, and position a new one.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in Which FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mandrel assembly in winding position but with parts broken away and showing a partial plan of the spindle support also with parts broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the spindle partially pivoted, the ejector actuator assembly in an intermediate position, and the yarn carrier doifed;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to the right hand side of FIGURES 1 and 2 but showing the spindle pivoted to its fullest extent and the ejector collar returned to its original position to enable the mandrel assembly to receive a new carrier;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, but showing the spindle pivoted back toward the winding position;

FIGURE 5 is an elevation with parts broken away, showing the mandrel assembly in winding position with a partially filled yarn package rotated by the usual driving roll; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the ejector assembly in the winding position of FIGURE 1.

' Referring to FIGURE 5, a yarn carrier C is shown in the environment of a driving .roll R operatively mounted on a winding machine (not shown) by the support S. Driving roll R is at all times during the winding process engaged with the yarn Y on the carrier C so that as the driving roll R rotates in one direction, it causes the carrier C to revolve in the opposite direction, thus resulting in the winding of the yarn Y around the carrier C.

The carrier C is supported on a mandrel assembly 10 which includes a spindle 18, a retaining head 12 and a mandel 14. The retaining head '12 is mounted on the free end of the spindle and the mandrel 14 extends about the spindle 18. The yarn carrier C is held on the mandrel 14 between the retaining head 12 and a stop '17 adjacent the fixed end of the mandrel. The details of the aforemen- 3 tioned assembly are stated sufliciently in application Ser. No. 556,055, and will not be further repeated.

A recessed portion is provided at the inner end of the mandrel 14. The spindle 18 loosely extends through an axial bore 16 in mandrel 14 and a collar 32 is fixed around the spindle 18 and bears against the inner surface of recessed portion 15 adjacent the bore 16. A coil spring 36 extends between collar 32 and a thrust bearing 20, which also extends around spindle 18 at the fixed end of spindle 18. The collar 32, spring 30, and thrust bearing 20, are positioned between the fixed end of spindle 18 and the base of the recessed portion 15. The coil spring 30 is continually exerting an outward force on the thrust bearing 20 forcing it away from the proximal end of the mandrel assembly 14. An ejector collar 22 extends around thrust bearing 20 and is provided with flanges that receive the proximal end edges of mandrel 14 in a manner described by applicants prior application Ser. No. 556,055.

In the upper rear portion of thrust bearing 20 a slot 19 as shown in FIGURE 6 extends from the outer periphery radially toward the center of the thrust bearing a distance of approximately half the radius of the thrust bearing. Within this slot is mounted thrust block 24 which extends into the slot and is mounted on a pin 26 which extends transversely across the slot 19 from one wall to the other. One wall of thrust block 24 is bevelled to provide clearance for pivotal movement of block 24 relative to the base of slot 19. Coil spring 28 is inserted between the upper portion of the bevelled wall 25 and the base of slot 19 for reasons to be later described.

A spindle stand 40 supports the end of the spindle assembly on the winding machine. Spindle stand 40 includes an upstanding lower member 41 and a bifurcated end defining flanges 5'2 and 54. The flanges 52 and 54 define a slot for receiving a cam member 34 suitably secured to the fixed end of the spindle 18 and joined with spindle stand 40 by a transverse pivot pin 42. The cam member 34 includes external arcuate recessed portions 36 and 38 selectively engageable with the free end portion 48 of a leaf spring 44. Leaf spring 44 is secured at the rear of the spindle stand as by thumb screw 46.

Also extending transversely of the slot between the flanges of spindle stand 40 is a transverse stationary hearing pin 50, which is adapted to bear against the rear Wall 27 of thrust block 24 at a point between pin 26 and lower wall 23 and acts as a bearing surface for thrust block 24 as will be described hereinafter.

Operation During the winding operation, the free end 48 of leaf spring 44 is secured in the lower recess 36 of cam member 34 locking the mandrel assembly 10 in the winding position. At the same time, thrust block 24 is situated with respect to stationary pin 50, in non-bearing or inoperative relation, and the yarn carrier C is axially held between the resilient fingers of the retaining member 12 and the stop means 17 on the mandrel 14. The ejector collar 22 is at this time retracted beyond the stop means 17 and not in contact with the base of the yarn carrier C.

When the winding operation is completed, the operator pivots the spindle holding the yarn carrier C toward him causing the spindle to pivot about pivot pin 42. This causes the transverse pin 26 to move toward stationary pin 50 bringing thrust block 24 into bearing relation with transverse bearing pin 50. The resulting force is then transferred to the ejector collar 22 moving it axially past the stop 17 and dofiing the carrier C as shown in FIGURE 2. At the same time the thrust bearing 20 compresses coil spring against collar 32. As can be seen from FIGURE 2, the free end 48 of leaf spring 44 has moved out of the recess 36 in the rear of cam member 34, and cam member 34 begins to pivot along with spindle 18 upwardly around transverse pivot pin 42.

When the spindle 18 is fully pivoted about pivot pin 42 as shown in FIGURE 3, it may be seen that the thrustblock 24 has ridden over transverse bearing pin 50 and the action of spring 30 has subsequently moved thrustbearing 20 back to its original position, whereby a new yarn carrier may be received. The action of thrust-bearing 20 moving back to the original position slightly free of stop 17 also carries with it the ejector collar 22, so that now when a new yarn carrier C is positioned on the mandrel, the yarn carrier may be seated completely without interference from the flanges of the ejector collar 22. Also, the upper portion of leaf spring 44 is firmly seated in the upper depression 38 of cam member 34 so that the mandrel assembly is locked in position to receive a new carrier.

After the new carrier C is put on the mandrel assembly the spindle 18 is pivoted back toward its original winding position. As shown in FIGURE 4, the thrust block 24 is drawn across bearing pin 50 from its FIGURE 3 position, overcoming compression spring 28. The bevelled wall 25 provides clearance between the inner wall of slot 19 and the body of the block 24 to permit the block 24 to pivot about pin 26.

This allows the thrust block 24 to return across transverse bearing pin 50 without subjecting the wall 27 of thrust block 24 to a bearing relation with pin 50.

The thrust block 24 is returned to its original position by the force of spring 28 after block 24 has been fully drawn across bearing pin 50.

The return operation continues until the cone, mandrel assembly, and ejector assembly return to the position shown in FIGURE 1.

There is thus provided an improved device for releasing the yarn carrier made from either paper or plastic and of either tubular or conical configuration after the winding operation is completed from the mandrel assembly for rapid and eflicient removal of the yarn carrier by an operator, and also to allow the operator to position a new yarn carrier without having to reposition the ejector collar on the ejector assembly before positioning the new yarn carrier.

In the drawings and specification, there have been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims:

I claim:

1. A doffing mechanism for releasing a yarn carrier adapted to be retained by axial pressure on a mandrel assembly having a resilient head adjacent one end and stop means adjacent the other end and adapted for pivotal movement about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of said mandrel assembly, said doffing mechanism comprising:

(a) a dofiing member normally positioned in a retracted position beyond said stop means and mounted for axial reciprocating movement across said stop means,

(b) first actuating means responsive to pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly in a first direction for urging said dolfing member from said retracted position across said stop means in one axial direction to impart axial movement to the yarn carrier away from the stop means and over the resilient head, thus releasing the yarn carrier from the mandrel assembly so that it may be manually removed; and

(c) second actuating means responsive to continued pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly in the same direction for returning said doffing member to its retracted position beyond said stop means.

2. A dofiing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said dofling mechanism further includes means for retaining the dofling member in said retracted position beyond said stop means during pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly in an opposite, second direction so as not to release a yarn carrier during said movement.

3. A dofling mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said first actuating means comprises a stationary element and a movable element, said movable element comprising means responsive to said pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly to move into bearing relation with said stationary means and thus urge said dofiing member from said retracted position across said stop means on said mandrel assembly.

4. A dofling mechanism according to claim 1 in which said first actuating means comprises a stationary bearing pin spaced from the side of the doffing member opposite said stop means, a thrust block positioned between said stationary pin and said dofiing member and movable with the dofiing member relative to the stationary pin, said thrust block bearing against said stationary pin in response to pivotal movement of the mandrel, thus urging said dofling member axially across said stop means and doflin g the yarn carrier.

5. A dofling mechanism according to claim 4 wherein said second actuating means comprises a spring means normally urging said mandrel assembly and said dofiing member apart, means responsive to said continued pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly for causing said thrust block to move beyond bearing relationship with the stationary pin, said spring means responsive to movement of the thrust block beyond bearing relationship with the stationary pin to return said doffing member to its retracted position.

6. A dotting mechanism according to claim 5 wherein said doffing member comprises an annular collar extending around a spindle on said mandrel assembly, an axially extending flange around the outer periphery of said collar which is urged in an axial direction back and forth across said stop means by the action of said first and second actuating means.

7. A dotting mechanism according to claim 5 wherein further means are provided for retaining said dofling member in a retracted position during pivotal movement of said mandrel assembly in said second direction, said further means including said doffing member, said dofling member having a slot defined by a transverse base wall and two axially extending walls receiving said thrust block, the wall of said thrust block adjacent the base wall being bevelled to provide clearance therefrom, a coil spring extending between said bevelled wall and said base wall, whereupon movement of said mandrel assembly in said second direction causes the bevelled wall of said block to overcome the force exerted by said spring and move toward the base wall thereby preventing said block from bearing against said stationary bearing pin and urging said dofiing member across said stop means.

8. A dofling mechanism according to claim 7 wherein means are provided for selectively holding said mandrel assembly in a winding position and in a dofling position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,259,448 3/1918 Reynolds 242-41 1,728,417 9/1929 Lewis. 1,887,790 11/ 1932 Stogner 242-46.3 1,941,724 1/ 1934 Swanson. 2,860,838 11/1958 Keith 242-46.3

FOREIGN PATENTS 700,750 12/ 1953 Great Britain.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DOFFING MECHANISM FOR RELEASING A YARN CARRIER ADAPTED TO BE RETAINED BY AXIAL PRESSURE ON A MANDREL ASSEMBLY HAVING A RESILIENT HEAD ADJACENT ONE END AND STOP MEANS ADJACENT THE OTHER END AND ADAPTED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID MANDREL ASSEMBLY, SAID DOFFING MECHANISM COMPRISING: (A) A DOFFING MEMBER NORMALLY POSITIONED IN A RETRACTED POSITION BEYOND SAID STOP MEANS AND MOUNTED FOR AXIAL RECIPROCATING MOVEMENT ACROSS SAID STOP MEANS, (B) FIRST ACTUATING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID MANDREL ASSEMBLY IN A FIRST DIRECTION FOR URGING SAID DOFFING MEMBER FROM SAID RETRACTED POSITION ACROSS SAID STOP MEANS IN ONE AXIAL DIRECTION TO IMPART AXIAL MOVEMENT TO THE YARN CARRIER AWAY FROM THE STOP MEANS AND OVER THE RESILIENT HEAD, THUS RELEASING THE YARN CARRIER FROM THE MANDREL ASSEMBLY SO THAT IT MAY BE MANUALLY REMOVED; AND (C) SECOND ACTUATING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO CONTINUED PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID MANDREL ASSEMBLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION FOR RETURNING SAID DOFFING MEMBER TO ITS RETRACTED POSITION BEYOND SAID STOP MEANS. 